I just wanted to write about my experience during my Thacher Revisit as there’s not a lot about it on this board, and I want to share a little bit about what’s, in the end, going to make me commit to the school.
9:30 AM Pastries on Dining Hall Patio -
We entered the campus about 20 minutes early, and there were muffins, coffee, orange juice, and chocolate croissants. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted warmly by my admissions officer and another family who wanted to sit with us to discuss the school. Everybody was kind and welcoming.
10:00 AM Assembly -
We headed to this spot out in the open with vibrant trees and bushes as the brisk breeze hit us. There were Thacher kids seated in this outside theater area place. Kids went up to the front of the theater-like area to give announcements and share news about their clubs or any events going on at the school.
10:30 AM Chem -
I had a Teaching fellow at the school teach us about super-tasters and non-super-tasters. The lesson was fun and interactive, and we got to build some friendships within the classroom early on.
11 AM History -
The history curriculum is very different from what I saw at other schools. The class was taught in the new GATES building, which is so innovative and scenic. We discussed non-partisan news sources and used that to transition into the topic of how everything has its origin in the world.
11:30 Lunch-
Words can not begin to describe how amazing the lunch was. I know it was a revisit day, but students and past Thacher families confirmed that the food has always been consistently good.
12:30 Campus Tour-
NGL, I forgot most of where we went during the campus tour except for THE HORSES. This is where Thacher shines its brightest. We got to look through an array of horsing grounds where the horses were being taken care of, and we pet a handful of them. It was probably the most fun experience ever. We also toured the GATES building, which has a bunch of new and innovative classrooms. We went through the beautiful dorms and got a great view of the Ojai mountains when we visited the chapel, which is a high walk away from the main part of campus. The dorms were great, and the bathrooms were clean (matters a lot people!).
1:30 Horse Demonstration -
This was one of the most fun parts of the day. 4 student riders and the Director of the Horse Program were in Khale Arena while people watched, at a bleacher-type seating place, the students demonstrating how to ride horses and jump over obstacles.
2:15 Student Panel -
Kids just spoke about their experience at Thacher and its uniqueness and opportunity.
3:30 End of Day -
FYI: The scent of oranges and flowers is amazing, and makes the environment so therapeutic along with the horses. And you see beautiful mountains everywhere.
We left with this one thought, “Thacher is an experience like no other. It would be foolish to turn down an offer and experience that couldn’t be replicated anywhere else.”